Jim Hornyak

Jim Hornyak Quick Links

An unmistakably shoestring digital video feature with the heart of a lesser "Twilight Zone" episode, "Final" is an uneven, low-impact brain teaser about a mental patient (Denis Leary) who is convinced he was cryogenically frozen in 1999 and is now a prisoner in the distant future, scheduled to die in a government experiment.

It's an enticing psychological talker, most of which takes place in Leary's sterile, near-empty ward as he and his outwardly compassionate doctor (Hope Davis) dodge and parry through a battle of wills over his vivid but incomplete delusions. Unstable and plagued by flashbacks of events surrounding a trauma the doc claims was only a few weeks ago, Leary is adamant in his belief that she's only there to brainwash him into giving his consent to be a guinea pig.

Both characters are a little bloodless, but converted comedian Leary gives a supple, straight-faced performance that holds the attention as he and Davis build a tentative trust between them that is tested when Leary tries to turn the tables on her, hoping she'll help him escape.